Polls Find Black GOP Primary Votes Nearly Nonexistent

Last week at the GOP’s Super Tuesday primaries, the battle for the presidential nomination raged on among candidates Mitt Romney (pictured left), Newt Gingrich (middle), and Rick Santorum (right). Despite claims that the GOP has tried to include African-American voters and a promise of inclusion, Republicans have largely ignored us. Interestingly enough, exit polls show that after last Tuesday’s vote, Black people have responded in kind by barely voting for anyone in the GOP pool, reports the Nation.

Exit pollsters had such few votes from the Black voting base that it couldn’t be determined who was the preferred candidate among the group. Even states like Georgia, where Black voters make up 31 percent of the voting pool, only made for 3 percent of the total. Similarly, in Michigan, where Black voters make up 15 percent, only 2 percent of Blacks pulled levers for the GOP candidates. South Carolina and Florida both clocked in with about 1 percent of the total GOP vote.

The GOP has been largely out of touch with Black voters, further marked by the ascension of President Barack Obama to the White House. In much of the GOP debates and discussions, the candidates have largely turned a blind eye toward race or have made disparaging comments about African Americans. All three candidates have put the lion’s share of attention, though, toward the game of one-upmanship. On Tuesday, Mississippi and Alabama residents can vote on the GOP primaries. Both states have large African-American residents, but it is expected that the trend of inactivity will continue.